cola braised brisket tacos

The other night I was watching an Iron Chef America battle between Iron Chef Michael Symon and Chef Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes fame. The secret ingredient for the night was chili peppers and chocolate, which is a combination that has always interested me. I had a brisket that I needed to do something with, so I took some inspiration from this episode.

Deciding to use cola as my braising liquid, I trimmed the brisket and rubbed it with a mixture of chili powder, cocoa powder and ground cayenne pepper. Then I added some soy and Worcestershire sauce along with ginger, garlic and roughly chopped jalapenos to the braise.

This recipe has some nice background heat, as I’m not a fan of heavily spiced food, and, as with any braise I do, the reduction sauce was the key to success. If you like your dishes hotter, then I’d recommend increasing the proportions or upping the ante from jalapenos to habaneros.

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2 1/2 to 3 pound beef brisket
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups cola (not diet)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons ginger, roughly chopped
2 jalapenos, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

assemblage

• Trim the brisket of fat, the rub with mixture of chili powder, cocoa powder and cayenne pepper
• Sear the brisket in a pan on high heat on both sides, then deposit into slow cooker
• Pour the cola, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce in with the brisket
• Add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno peppers
• Cover and cook for six hours
• After the brisket is finished braising, remove and cover with foil to retain heat
• In a medium sauce pan add the braising liquid, after straining the fat, and reduce by half
• Whisk in the tomato paste and brown sugar
• Taste reduction sauce and adjust seasoning, if needed

presentation

When I originally thought about doing this I intended to slice the brisket on the bias and use the strips of meat as the basis for tacos. In order to let the delicately braised meat and reduction sauce to shine through I didn’t want to add to much to the tacos. I dressed some broccoli slaw with a sesame soy vinaigrette to provide a some contrast to the meat and some crunch.